Bucks at Raptors
The Toronto Raptors blasted through the final two weeks before the All-Star break with seven straight wins to jump to the top of the Eastern Conference. The Raptors will see if that momentum carried through the break when they host the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
Toronto had an interesting All-Star break when All-Star guards DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry played for Team Curry and went up against head coach Dwane Casey, who was leading the bench for Team James. "That was tough ... I love both of them as sons," Casey told reporters. "You look out there and you're yelling at the guys to get up on them, to push them, and to play DeMar's left-hand or right-hand, and push him left. All those things that you fight against as a coach." DeRozan and Lowry were joined on Team Curry by Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is second in the NBA in scoring at 27.8 points and has his team in the No. 6 spot in the East -- nine games behind the Raptors -- with 25 games remaining in the regular season. "It's over my imagination," Antetokounmpo told reporters during All-Star weekend. "I always had a feeling maybe I can make it in the NBA, but I never thought I was going to be 23 years old, be in my second time in the All-Star (Game), having a chance to win the MVP, carrying a team on my back -- that's over my imagination."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), TSN (Toronto)
ABOUT THE BUCKS (32-25): Milwaukee won nine of 12 heading into the break, and six of those last seven came with power forward Jabari Parker back in the lineup. The 22-year-old former No. 2 overall pick sat out a year following knee surgery and is still working his way back off the bench, averaging 9.3 points on 46.3 percent shooting in 17.7 minutes off the bench since returning on Feb. 2. The Bucks will have to wait until next month for the return of reigning rookie of the year Malcolm Brogdon, who averages 13.2 points but sat out the last seven games with a partially torn left quadriceps tendon.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (41-16): Toronto won its last seven games by an average of 18.9 points, and the second unit is getting plenty of attention for its role in the streak. Pascal Siakam, CJ Miles, Fred VanVleet, Delon Wright and Jakob Poeltl are taking turns leading the reserves in scoring and often get a long run in the fourth quarter due to the big leads. "I love it. Our bench is everything," DeRozan told reporters. "Our bench gives us older guys an opportunity to not play in the fourth quarter and to rest. It's great to be able to sit back and cheer those guys on while they go out there and pull out victories."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Raptors PF Serge Ibaka went 19-for-27 from the floor in the last three games and is shooting 49.6 percent from the floor.
2. Milwaukee PF John Henson (hamstring) sat out the three games prior to the break and is questionable for Friday.
3. Toronto took the last five in the series, including the final three games in the first round of the playoffs last spring.